Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo flies with rocket motor for first time

The hope is to start passenger flights as early as 2013.

SpaceShipTwo—a spaceplane built by Richard Branson's spaceflight company Virgin Galactic—has completed its first test flight with its rocket motor components installed.

The spacecraft has already completed more than 20 glide flights, where it is pulled into the air by carrier aircraft WhiteKnightTwo before being released. However, the test flight on December 19 was the first it has completed with the tanks, valves, and plumbing on board. Despite having these parts installed, they were not powered—a further two such glide flights will take place before SpaceShipTwo's builders consider firing up the engine.

SpaceShipTwo is being built at a spaceport in the Mojave desert in California. It has a hybrid motor, which is powered by a rubber-based fuel and nitrous oxide. The aim is to start passenger space flights as early as 2013.

The powered flights will eventually see the spacecraft ascend to an altitude of 15km (about 9.3mi) attached to carrier aircraft before dropping away to fire up the rocket. The blast will propel the craft to 100km above Earth, allowing up to six passengers to experience weightlessness and see the curvature of the planet set against a dark backdrop of space.

You can read an in-depth report about Virgin Galactic in the magazine's March issue, out in early February.